KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police have arrested a food delivery rider and an insurance agent on suspicion of being members of a drug syndicate.
They also seized 24.5kg of syabu worth some RM800,000 on Thursday (Nov 7).
Police believe the delivery rider, a Sabahan aged 24, acted as a drug mule while the 28-year-old insurance agent from the peninsula was one of the syndicate’s ringleaders.
Sabah police chief Comm Datuk Jauteh Dikun said the Sabahan suspect was detained at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here at 8.30am on Thursday.
Comm Jauteh said police monitored the flight coming in from Kuala Lumpur after being tipped off that the man had prohibited items in his carry-on bags.
He said anti-narcotics personnel from the KKIA and state police headquarters later stopped the suspect, who was carrying two bags found to contain 23 boxes of "low glycemic index rice".
“Our men found the drugs in the boxes,” he told a press conference here on Tuesday (Nov 12).
“The suspect is believed to be a drug mule who would pick up drugs from Kuala Lumpur and transport them to wherever the syndicate ordered.
“The man is paid RM1,000 for every kilogramme of drugs he brings into Sabah.
“These drugs were meant for the local market and could feed the habit of up to 81,000 drug abusers," Comm Jauteh added.
Following interrogation of the first suspect, police subsequently roped in the second man here, he said.
He noted that police were investigating the source of the drugs in the peninsula and how the suspect managed to sneak them on board the flight.
“We also seized several personal items like jewellery, mobile phones, a laptop and cash from the suspects.
“After being questioned, the first suspect admitted transporting drugs worth some RM10,000 to a neighbouring state previously,” he said.
Comm Jauteh said they expected to make further arrests soon.
The suspects have been remanded under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 until Friday (Nov 15), he added.
